


My Flatmate (flatmate!Levi x Reader)

by Maddie612



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-16
Updated: 2017-03-28
Packaged: 2018-01-19 16:00:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 17,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1475689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maddie612/pseuds/Maddie612
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the first day of sharing a flat with Levi—and it was two months ago—you realised that you have a problem. You fell in love with him.</p><p>The problem is?</p><p>He is not in love with you.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Huge thanks go to [klovesya](http://klovesya.deviantart.com) who corrects all my terrible mistakes. Seriously, sometimes they are so stupid that I want to crawl into a hole and never come out, yet she still wants to edit my story. Thank you so much!

You yawn and stretch your arms. _What time is it?_ You glance at the clock above the door. Quarter past seven. You sigh. It's time to get up.  
  
Before you leave the room, you peek at your flatmate's bed. Of course he made it immediately after he woke up. You don't have time to do the same with yours. No one is going to enter this room during your classes, anyway.  
  
Generally, Levi is the tidiest human you've ever met. When you decided to find someone to rent a flat with, you've never expected that kind of a person. He literally interrogated you. The questions were simple enough – what are your habits, how often do you clean your room, are you an organised person. You really needed an accommodation, so you've lied about a thing or two...  
  
Now, after two months of living with you, he discovered that you're not exactly as tidy as you claimed to be. But it seems not to bother him as long as you make your bed and vacuum, twice a week, your shared room.  
  
You walk into small kitchen which also serves you as a dining room, to see that Levi is already there, drinking a black tea from his cup.  
  
“Morning.” You yawn once again and straighten the top of your pyjamas.  
  
He nods, looking over as you open the fridge and eventually decide to make yourself scrambled eggs. You fry it for a three minutes and once you're finished, you sit at the table opposite Levi and place your plate in front of you.  
  
“What time do you leave?” you ask after swallowing first forkful of your breakfast.  
  
Your flatmate doesn't seem very interested in your presence. He takes a sip from his cup, holding it with his long, pale fingers and stares at you for a moment. “Now.”  
  
“Oh. My classes start at half past eight.” You try not to speak with full mouth, but it's fruitless. “And yours?”  
  
“Mine too,” he answers, finishing his tea and leaving the kitchen. From your place, you can hear the door slamming.  
  
You frown. Did you do something wrong?

 

* * *

 

“Finally home...” you whisper ringing the doorbell. You have keys, but don't really feel like looking for them in your cluttered bag. Anyway, Levi should be in flat because it's 7PM and on Mondays his classes end at 6:30.  
  
As you supposed, he is there, not very pleased.  
  
“You lost your keys again, moron?”  
  
What a nice greeting. Especially after such a long day. You shrug your shoulders and enter the flat.  
  
First – food. You're starving. You didn't have time to have lunch. Mondays are always like that - three hour classes, lecture, quick break for elevenses and seminar. At least other days are better.  
  
When your stomach is full, you can get down to work. You collapse onto the bed. Levi watches as you read a book and sigh loudly from time to time.  
  
“Could you possibly shut up?” he asks finally.  
  
“Sorry.”  
  
“Bad day?”  
  
And that's unexpected. You lift your eyes to look at Levi. He's staring at you, with no streak of curiosity on his bored face.  
  
“As always,” you respond quietly going back to your reading.  
  
“Go to sleep,” he states suddenly and adds, “I can't stand your damn moans. Tomorrow you start classes at 10 o'clock, you can revise in the morning.”  
  
“But I'm not tired,” you lie trying to keep your eyes open.  
  
“You look like shit.”  
  
You accustomed yourself to such statements, thanks God.  
  
“As always,” you repeat closing your book and head to bathroom, grabbing your pyjamas on the way. Deep inside, his words hurt you.  
  
After the first day of sharing a flat with Levi—and it was two months ago—you realised that you have a problem. You fell in love with him.

The problem is?  
  
He is not in love with you.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Street noises coming from ajar window wake you up at 8 o'clock in the morning.  
  
You have an hour to revise material from yesterday. When you pull out the book from your bag, you notice that Levi is still sleeping in his bed. That surprises you. He usually gets up very early, even if his classes start at 9 o'clock like today.  
  
Should you wake him up? I takes 15 minutes to get to the university from your flat. Suddenly one thought hits your mind – you don't know which subject Levi studies. He never told you. You saw him on a campus one or two times but that's all. It makes you feel sad. You always talk with him about your professors and classes. Or rather at him. He's usually silent.  
  
You glance at sleeping Levi and your heart melts. You try to fight an urge to touch his messy hair falling on his forehead.  
  
_All right (Name), only once!_  
  
You lean over him and carefully run your fingertips over his black bangs. Then, you take one strand between your index finger and thumb. You scold yourself mentally. Levi wouldn't be happy, that instead of waking him up, you are playing with his hair.  
  
You squat in front of his bed and gently tug his white pyjamas shirt. “Levi, wake up!”  
  
He instantly opens his cobalt eyes, nearly giving you a heart attack. “What is it?”  
  
“Um... I woke up and you were sleeping, which is not normal,” you state sitting back on your bed. “I thought that you wouldn't like to be late for your classes...”  
  
He picks himself up and sighs loudly. “Thank you.”  
  
You only make a crooked smile in response. Then, you open book to revise as you wanted to do, before sleeping Levi distracted you. Still having a memory of his peaceful expression, you begin to read.  
  
Through the corner of your eye, you see that Levi takes his clothes from a chest of drawers. When he leaves a room to dress himself, you quickly finish chapter you needed to read. You wait until Levi comes back from the bathroom and dress yourself too.  
  
“Wasn't you supposed to revise?” he asks you, when you sit in the kitchen opposite him like yesterday.  
  
“I just finished,” you answer a bit down, because he clearly doesn't want to spend breakfast with you. At least he acts like he doesn't.  
  
Fact, that man such as Levi will never be interested in a woman like you, hurts you the most. You're totally aware that he wouldn't want you even if you were the last person in the planet. To him you are just an annoying flatmate who can't vacuum the room properly.  
  
You suddenly feel bad. After deciding that you will have breakfast later, you leave the kitchen and lie on your bed until Levi walks out of the flat.  
  
You feel your cheeks becoming wet. You never wanted to be troublesome for anybody. Especially for Levi.  
But life goes on. You should focus on college. Maybe studying will help you forget about your problems.

 

* * *

 

You watch your classmates getting on the bus. No one waves to you. No one says “See you tomorrow” to you. No one smiles to you. They disappear in a crowd of students also returning home.  
  
You tried to make friends, you really tried. First thing that you did, was introduce yourself to the blonde girl Annie from your year. She rejected you and after that you didn't even try talking to anybody.  
  
Seeing as it only takes you 15 minutes to ge to your flat, you return to it on foot as always. Halfway there, it suddenly starts to rain. Of course you didn't take an umbrella with you, so you have to run as fast as you can. You're angry. Angry that you're not enough sociable to make friends. Angry that you're not interesting enough to capture Levi's attention. Angry that you are who you are.  
  
At this moment you hate every inch of your face and body.  
  
Although you get to flat in 5 minutes, your hair, coat and bag are all wet.  
  
“Dammit!” you swear and pound at the door.  
  
Levi is there as you expected. You don't even look at him, just storm into the flat violently.  
  
“You are bemiring the floor,” snaps your flatmate waiting for you to take your shoes off.  
  
Without saying a word you lock yourself in the bathroom.


	3. Chapter 3

“Are you trying to take a shit, or can I open the door?” snorts Levi.  
  
You lie on your side and press your cheek to the cool floor. It was scoured yesterday anyhow. You let out a spasmodic sound. You hear that Levi goes away just to come back, probably with knife, and opens the lock.  
  
At the sound of opening door, you curl yourself up. Levi sighs irritated. And then, he lifts you up from the floor and carries through the hall, taking your shoes off on the way. Before he places you in the sitting position on the bed, he removes your wet coat.  
  
Just as your body touches the mattress, you sneeze.  
  
“Perfect,” mutters Levi under his breath.  
  
You shiver, more because you realise that he just carried you in his arms, than from the cold.  
  
“You have five minutes to get changed,” orders your flatmate, “I'll be waiting in the kitchen and you'd better have good excuse for what happened in the bathroom.”  
  
Before he closes the door behind him, he repeats, “Five minutes.”  
  
You hide your face in shaking hands. What will you tell him? That no one likes you in your class? That you love him, and he doesn't love you? Damn!  
  
Ah, yes. You were supposed to get changed.  
  
You open the drawer with your shirts and choose a white one, with an “Everything's fine!” inscription. How accurate. You take off the wet T-shirt and put dry one on. You don't change your jeans because they're not very wet. Finally you detangle your hair with your fingers.  
  
Then, you head to the kitchen to face your angry flatmate.  
  
“What happened?” asks Levi, just as you sit in your chair. Somehow he managed to make himself black tea. Or maybe he was already drinking it when you popped into the flat?  
  
You gulp, “Nothing special.”  
  
“Did someone hurt you?” he stops drinking and now stares at you studiously.  
  
“No,” you contradict looking down, trying to avoid his inquiring gaze.  
  
“Tell me,” he seems serious.  
  
You shake your head firmly, “No!”  
  
He nods slowly, “Then what happened?”  
  
You really don't feel like telling him, “Nothing concerning you.”  
  
“Really?” he raises an eyebrow. You chew your lower lip. He looks so handsome.  
  
“Really,” you exhale.  
  
After your assurance, he totally loses his interest in your presence.  
  
As always.  
  
You leave kitchen and get into bed, not bothering to take off your clothes. Then, you close your eyes and tired, you fall asleep.

 

* * *

 

When you wake up, it's dark outside. How long have you been asleep?  
  
Suddenly, you feel very weak. You lick your chapped lips and pick yourself up from the bed. Levi keeps a thermometer somewhere in the bathroom. You walk through the hall and when you put your hand on a toilet handle, you hear a familiar voice, “What are you doing, brat?” Levi is sitting in your small living room with a book in his hands.  
  
“I want to take my temperature,” you explain with a hoarse voice, “and you can't call me brat. We're around the same age.”  
  
“You're younger,” he walks up to you, “Now, back to bed. In that state you would probably break a thermometer while carrying it...”  
  
You shrug your shoulders and return to bedroom obediently. A moment later he walks into the room and hands you a mercury thermometer. You place it under your left armpit to discover, ten minutes later, that you are weakened.  
  
Levi furrows his eyebrows looking at the mercury column that stopped at 36.3 degree Celsius*. “Have you drank anything today?”  
  
You think for a moment, “I haven't.”  
  
Levi rolls his eyes, walks out of the room and comes back with a bottle of water.  
  
“Thanks,” you begin to quaff pleasantly at the cold liquid.  
  
“Get a grip, idiot. I'm not going to nanny you all the time.”  
  
“No one is making you,” you respond closing the bottle cap.  
  
He doesn't answer. You call something to your mind.  
  
“Anyway, you said that I'm younger than you. What did you mean exactly?”  
  
“Does it matter?” he takes a step back and crosses his arms.  
  
You ignore his question, “I'm eighteen and I'm on my first year on university. In which year are you?”  
  
He sighs but gives you the answer, “On first, like you.”  
  
You frown. Think (Name), think!  
  
Ah, yes! Of course!  
  
“Is that your second subject?”  
  
“Yes,” he says widening his eyes a bit. I surprised him, you think with satisfaction.  
  
You make a small calculation in your head, “So you're twenty-two, at least.”  
  
He nods confirming your speculations.  
  
“So twenty-two?”  
  
“Yes,” he says with emphasis.  
  
You think, trying to check how that information makes you feel. Well, four years is not a big age difference. And then, you remember that it doesn't matter because you have no chances with Levi.  
  
“Here,” you give a thermometer back to him, “I need to shower. Won't take long.”  
  
You walk out of the room leaving Levi with a quizzical look.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> E/N:  
> *Celcius, that is 97.3 degrees Farenheit.


	4. Chapter 4

One week passed since you locked yourself in the bathroom and Levi revealed his age to you. You tried to focus on a college, not on your problems.  
  
It's a Friday and you're returning from your evening lecture. It's dark and you don't like it. You should have taken a bus. Judging by the fact that you've been walking for 8 minutes by now, you're around halfway to your flat.  
  
When you're passing the off-licence, you suddenly hear someone's voice, “Hey, lady! Where are you hurrying to?”  
  
You look over your shoulder to see three men sitting on a bench in front of a shop.  
  
 _First rule, (Name) – ignore them. They will leave you alone if you don't react to their burbling._  
  
You quicken your step.  
  
“Come and drink with us!” cries other man.  
  
Your heart stops beating when you hear footsteps behind you. _No please._ Someone grabs your arm. You freeze.  
  
“It's very naughty to refuse, you know?” You can feel a man's beery breath on your face. First thing you do is wrench your arm from his hold. But he catches it again. Two other men approach you. One of them is holding a bottle in right hand.  
  
You have never been as terrified as you are now. They have a preponderance, there's no way you can possibly escape. How stupid were you! Why didn't you take a taxi? You realise that you are shaking.  
  
They are saying something to you, but you can't hear it. You're numb and can't move. This is impossible. One time! You have evening lecture one time in a whole term!  
  
Suddenly there is a blood on your face. But not your blood. You snap out of a shock and look around you. The man who was holding the bottle is lying now on the pavement, blood running from his nose.  
  
There's no time to think. You quickly push another man onto the ground. When you kick him right in the stomach, someone sends third one to the road. You squint to see who your saviour is. For a moment you can swear that this person has short black hair.  
  
But it's not Levi.  
  
It's Annie Leonhardt.

 

* * *

 

“If you say _thank you_ once again, I swear I'll do with you the same thing I did with those guys.”  
  
You and Annie are walking down the street. It turned out, that she lived in a flat near yours.  
  
“Sorry, but I will never be able to thank you enough for what you did for me,” you mumble, still in shock after what happened five minutes ago. “Anyway, I didn't know that you are good at fighting.”  
  
“My dad is a martial arts instructor,” she explains briefly. She looks like she doesn't want to talk about it so you change the subject.  
  
“I thought you didn't like me. At least you acted like that.”

She stays silent for a moment, “I'm not good at communicating.”

“I see... Oh, that's my flat.” You point at the building you are approaching.

“Mine is a street from here.”

“Are you sure you will get to it safely?” You open the front door to your block of flats.  
  
“Are you sure you will get upstairs safely?” responds the blonde sharply.  
  
You chuckle but she seems serious.  
  
“Yes, thank you onc— Sorry! Then, see you on Monday?”  
  
She nods slowly and rotates wanting to walk away but you grab her by her arm. “Annie, one more thing!”  
  
“What is it?” She looks at you with her cold blue eyes.  
  
“Do I look like something bad happened to me?”  
  
She studies your face for a while. “You have blood on your right cheek and your hair is a bit tangled, why are you asking?”  
  
“I don't want my flatmate to find out that I got attacked.”  
  
“That will be rather hard.”  
  
You let out a sigh, “Never mind. Sorry for bothering you. Goodbye, Annie.” You walk into the building looking for your keys in a bag and hoping that Levi is sleeping.  
  
He is not. First thing he does after you enter the flat is examine you carefully.  
  
“You always have to get into trouble, don't you?” he asks, toneless.  
  
You feel your lower lip trembling as you answer. “I may be wrong, but I don't think it's any of your business.”  
  
You pass him, heading to the bathroom to clean your face. When you walk into it, he scoffs, “It seems like miss _Everything's fine_ is not as fine as she claimed to be.”  
  
“Excuse me?” You open the door rapidly. “I could have gotten killed!”  
  
“How?”  
  
“You want to know?” You take a big breath. “Three men accosted me, and if my classmate Annie hadn't reacted in time, you would have been looking for a new flatmate now!”  
  
You don't wait for him to say anything, just slam the door of the bathroom and begin to wash your face. Then you go to the bedroom for your pyjamas but Levi stops you halfway. He still stands in a hall.  
  
“Why didn't you take a taxi or a bus?” he asks grabbing you by your wrist. “If you did it, you wouldn't have nearly gotten raped.”  
Your eyes widen in shock. “You're saying that it would be my fault if I got raped?!”  
  
“No, I'm saying that you were extremely irresponsible.”  
  
“That was one of the most frightening things that happened to me in my life, Levi,” you gasp. “And now you're holding me like one of those men,” your voice breaks. You don't want to seem weak in front of him. You were tough on him too much already. You decide to show Levi that you're worth sharing a flat with him.  
  
You pull your hand out of his hold, grab your pyjamas and return to the bathroom. Noise of a streaming water successfully drowns your sobbing.


	5. Chapter 5

As the weekend arrived, you go to your part time job, as usual. Doctor Grisha Yeager employed you in his private clinic as a secretary in reception. Your work includes letting people into his office and trying not to fall asleep.  
  
Today, he has only a few patients so you can nestle yourself comfortably in the chair. At 4 o'clock your boss' son returns from school. He always visits the clinic after his Saturday classes.  
  
“Hello, (Name).” He waves to you entering the waiting room.  
  
“Hi, Eren.” You send him a small smile.  
  
Eren is younger than you – he's in his last year of high school. However, that doesn't make any difference. Despite his age, you still consider him a good friend. His optimism and determination are infectious.  
  
“Where is Mikasa and Armin?” you ask as you yawn. Mikasa and Armin, are Eren's friends. Mikasa's parents died when she was nine years old and since then, she has been living in Eren's house under the custody of his parents. Armin is an orphan too but his grandfather takes care of him.  
  
“They went to get some pharmaceuticals for my father,” explains Eren collapsing on the chair next to you. “How was your week?”  
  
You recall the incident from yesterday and fix your eyes onto the floor. “Quite good. I had a few tense situations, but nothing bad happened.”  
  
Eren suddenly bursts into laughter.  
  
“What is it?” you can't help yourself from smiling. He looks so amusing.  
  
“Let me tell you a story from today,” he starts with excited voice. “You won't believe what my classmate said to our biology teacher yesterday!”  
  
Till the end of your job, he entertains you with funny stories from his school life. You can't stop laughing and totally forget about your troubles.

 

* * *

 

“What are you doing?” Levi walks into your small living room holding a cup—with a black tea you suppose—in his right hand.  
  
You glance over your shoulder at him, still sitting cross-legged on a coach. “I wanted to watch a film. Is that a crime?”  
  
He just snorts. You shift your eyes back to the screen. The movie you had chosen begins, when Levi suddenly slumps on the coach beside you. He leans his arms on the back of the sofa making you gulp. You can feel his right hand behind your head. It disturbs you so much, that you can't focus on the movie.  
  
This is ridiculous, crosses your mind. You have no idea what the main character's name is. Ignoring Levi's arm, you fold your arms, clench your hands into fists and put them under your armpits.  
  
It works only for a few minutes.  
  
When you start to understand the film's plot, Levi scratches his nose with his right hand. While putting it back on the couch, he accidentally brushes your ear with his cold fingers.  
  
“You're red,” he points out peeking at you.  
  
“Really?” you grunt, trying to flip your hair to the left side of your face to hide your crimson cheeks.  
  
“Maybe you should take that jumper off,” he prompts not taking his eyes off the TV screen. You ogle him.  
  
Then it occurs to you – Levi can't know that you don't have a T-shirt under the jumper you are wearing. He just suggested taking it off, because he thought that your blushing is the result of overheating.  
  
“I'm not sure if that qualifies as a good idea,” you answer glancing at the dark-haired man.  
  
He raises his eyebrows. “You think it doesn't?”  
  
“Even if it does, it wouldn't solve the problem... Now, excuse me,” you add quickly before he has a chance to ask why. “I want to finish this movie.”

 

* * *

 

“Shitty film,” states Levi when end credits start to appear.  
  
“Yeah, it was terrible,” you agree. “Listen... Do you mind if I use the bathroom?”  
  
He furrows his eyebrows. “On Sundays I'm the first one who uses it.”  
  
You send him a crooked smile. “Please, I need to wake up earlier tomorrow.”  
  
He sighs and stares at you for a moment. You turn your head away embarrassed.  
  
“All right,” he finally nods.  
  
“Thank you.” You quickly run into bedroom, grab your pyjamas and lock yourself in the bathroom.  
  
You take a shower as fast as you can and brush your teeth impatiently. Tomorrow you and Annie are going to college together. You can't waste such an occasion to make a friend by being late.  
  
When you're eventually lying in the warm bed, it's Levi turn to use the bathroom. You listen to the streaming water with closed eyes, trying to fall asleep.  
  
You're just beginning to fall asleep, when your flatmate walks into the bedroom and wakes you up.  
  
“Can you at least explain to me why it was so necessary for you to go to the bathroom first?” He drops himself down onto his bed.  
  
You yawn closing your eyes again. “I'm meeting with my classmate tomorrow and we're going to college together...”  
  
Levi asks you about something else but you can't hear what, because you're already asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

You slowly open your eyes and stretch your arms. Dripping noises could be heard coming from behind the opened window, tell you it's raining again. After waking up a bit more, you cast your still half-lifted eyes at the clock.  
  
“What the hell?!” You don't feel sleepy anymore. Jumping out of the bed, you grab your mobile phone to check if the clock is fast. Unfortunately, its hands are perfectly in their places. You groan in anger and quickly start to analyse your situation.  
  
After about two minutes you realise that there is no sense in going to the college today. In short – you've overslept causing you to miss half of your classes. Clock hands unrelentingly point at half past ten.  
  
“Dammit...” You slump back onto your bed and hide your face in hands. The worst thing about this situation is not the missed classes, you don't really care about that.  
  
Annie.  
  
The vision of Annie waiting in front of your flat or staircase terrifies you the most. You must have disappointed her.  
  
You hit the bedside table, furious at yourself. The slim chance of you and Annie becoming friends was gone now. You've proved to her that you're exactly the same person she thought you were, when she rejected you in the beginning of the year.  
  
And you lost everything because the stupid clock alarm on your phone that didn't go off.  
  
You reach for the unfortunate mobile phone. A suppressed shout escapes your mouth after finding out that someone turned off the alarm. Just as you are about to scream out in frustration, the door of your bedroom opened abruptly.  
  
You clench your teeth, ready to pour your anger on your beloved flatmate but he's quicker than you.  
  
“Judging by your moans, I was sure someone was just about to butcher the hell out of you.”  
  
You only send him a glare and lie yourself on your back. You count to ten while studying the ceiling.   
  
Suddenly something comes to your mind. You lift your head up.  
  
“You knew I wanted to wake up earlier, didn't you?” You glance at Levi, now leaning against the door frame.   
  
He nods with his usual impassive expression.  
  
“Then... Then why didn't you wake me up?!” you burst out suddenly.   
  
Levi raises his eyebrows. You cast your eyes on the floor, ashamed of your actions.  
  
“I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have...” you mutter unable to collect the words.  
  
“Breakfast is ready,” Levi states stoically and leaves the room closing the door behind him.   
  
You slowly pull yourself up from the bed. Deciding you will take a shower after breakfast, you head up to the kitchen in your pyjamas.  
  
The sight of the dining table knocks you off your feet. If you hadn't known Levi's character (“And do you know his character?” asks a small voice inside of your head.), you would have thought that he invited the whole university to have breakfast with you.  
  
You shift your eyes from one thing to another. Scrambled eggs, sandwiches with ham, cheese and tomatoes, toasts and so on. On the other side of the table your flatmate placed two cups with freshly brewed black tea.   
  
“Are we opening a café?” you ask, stunned as sit down on your chair in front of Levi.  
  
He ignores your question and reaches for his tea. Not knowing how you should act after your sudden burst, you grab the other cup.  
  
You consume breakfast in silence. When the table is finally empty, you fix your eyes on the window on your left side.  
  
“Is Annie that friend you were supposed to meet this morning?” Levi suddenly speaks up.  
  
“Yes,” you reply still staring out the window. Wait. Did he just say  _Annie_?  
  
You turn your head to him instantly.  
  
“You know Annie?”  
  
Levi shrugs.  
  
“She was here in the morning and asked me to pass onto you that your classes are cancelled due to your professor's food poisoning.” He smirks while saying the last two words.  
  
You blink.  
  
“My classes are what?”  
  
“Cancelled,” Levi repeats calmly.  
  
“Oh my...” You drop your head onto the table. “That's why you didn't wake me up...”  
  
“I also turned your damn alarm off before it had a chance to go off.”  
  
“I'm so sorry,” you mutter, face touching the cold surface of the table. “But wait a second.” You lift your head up. “Why are you here? I can't believe that your professor is also food poisoned.”  
  
Levi stands up.  
  
“I took a day off,” he declares and leaves the kitchen.  
  
“Why?” you follow him to your small living room.  
  
“Do I have to justify all my actions?” he sighs sitting on a coach. “I just didn't go to the college, end of topic.  
  
You open your mouth to repeat the question but in different form when Levi casts his cold eyes on you. That effectively shuts you up.   
  
You suddenly recall Levi's words from the kitchen.  
  
 _I also turned your damn alarm off before it had a chance to go off._  
  
Now, that was stupid. Why did he say that? Such an obvious fact sounded odd coming from him. In a normal situation he would never inform you about such a trivial thing.  
  
He had a reason to say that to you then.   
  
You have no idea how many minutes passed before you eventually decide to take a place next to your flatmate. You awkwardly collapse onto the coach, your thoughts still occupied with the weird sentence.  
  
And then it occurs to you.   
  
To turn the clock's alarm off before it had a chance to ring, Levi must have unlocked your phone.  
  
Your phone is password protected.  
  
The password is...  
  
 _Oh no..._  
  
“So...” you start nervously glancing at Levi.  _He knows._  
  
He raises his eyebrows questioningly.  
  
“What now?” you ask, stooping so now your flatmate seems taller than you.  
  
Levi slowly leans towards you. You can feel his hot breath tickling your ear as he speaks.  
  
“I don't know. What do you want to do?”


	7. Chapter 7

You feel your legs shaking as you stand up. Levi cocks an eyebrow at you, clearly curious because of your behaviour.

“Excuse me for a moment.” You scratch the back of your head nervously, a crimson flush spreading up all over your face. “I ought to take a shower.”

You lurch out of the living room, feeling Levi's dark blue eyes following you. He didn't say anything but you know that he's aware of everything. Of your stupid crush on him. You've never felt so embarrassed in your whole life before.

You need to go out. Take a breath of fresh air. Rethink everything.

You catch yourself standing in front of the wardrobe. Without cogitation, you grab a clean pair of underwear, plain white T-shirt, dark grey tracksuit pants and black sweatshirt.

Before you enter the bathroom, you peek into the living room. Levi's still sitting on the coach, in the same position you left him in two minutes ago. He's gazing in the direction of the window. You shake your head firmly and slide into the bathroom.

After a quick shower, you change into the clothes you brought with you and throw your pyjamas into the laundry basket.

Having done that, you head to the front door.

“I'm going out!” you call in the direction of living room and, not waiting for the response, leave the flat.

The cold fresh air hits you as soon as you find yourself on the pavement. You begin to run down the street. It's a frosty morning but very refreshing.

Trying to concentrate on jogging, you push any unpleasant thoughts away.

_Breath in, breath out. Breath in, breath out. Breath in..._

How stupid were you! You wonder if you will ever be able to look into Levi's eyes again.

 After only ten minutes you're already out of breath and sweating as well. You shouldn't have been running so aggressively. Deciding to rest for a moment, you perch on a kerb, sucking in desperate gulps of air.

You draw a long breath and let it hiss out slowly. During the process of it, you inspect the other side of the road.

“(Name)?” You jump at the sound of someone on your left saying your name quietly.

“Hi Annie.” You offer your classmate a weak smile. “Free day, hm?”

Annie Leonhardt crosses her arms. She's wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt and black cotton knee-length shorts. Her blonde hair is up in a ponytail.

“Have you been fighting with a troll?” she asks, examining your sweaty face.

You try to laugh but the voice can't escape your mouth. Instead of that you give a confused smile.

“I... I wanted to go outside,” you explain taking small pauses between words to control your breath.

“And why is that?” She hands you a bottle of water.

“Thanks.” You take three gulps of the cold liquid and put the bottle on the kerb beside you. “I-I'm a fool Annie...”

You glance at her hands resting on her hips, afraid to look into her blue eyes.

“Everyone who doesn't carry water with them while running are fools.”

You blink several times because your eyes start to sting. Suddenly you want to tell her about everything.

And so you do.

Annie listens to you carefully. She nods a few times but doesn't say anything. You tell her everything that lay heavy on your heart. At the end of your story, you speak in a hardly audible voice. When you tell her about the password to your phone, she reaches her hand out to you and pulls you up as if you were a feather. You wait in silence for her to say something but she just eyes you with her usual cold expression.

“God...” You run your left hand over your face and through your hair. “I'm so sorry... I don't know why I told you about that. We started talking to each other like what? Three days ago?”

She tilts her head, still silent. You feel panic raising up to your throat.

“Oh my God, Annie... I'm hopeless...” You begin to hyperventilate, realizing the situation you are in. “I can't go back to the flat and just pretend that nothing happened...”

A hysterical laugh escapes your mouth. You crouch clutching your head and letting out a small whine.

And then Annie squats down in front of you. She grabs you by your wrists making you look at her.

“(Name),” she speaks up quietly. “That's exactly what you're going to do. You go back to the flat and pretend that nothing happened. Because nothing happened.”

“But—”

“No,” she interrupts you. “You need to start treating him normally, (Name).”

She stands up grabbing her bottle of water. You lift yourself up too.

“Annie, I...” Your voice trails off because something wet just landed on your nose. You lift your head up.

“Snow.” Annie shrugs.

You frown. Because of that “Levi thing” you totally lost the time perception.

“What day is it?”

“Twenty-fifth of November,” Annie replies briefly.

You open your eyes wide. Somehow the two months of sharing the flat with Levi managed to pass unnoticed.

“I'd better be going,” you state. Annie nods.

“Good idea.” She puts the hood on and pulls it low over her face.

You take a step in her direction.

“Annie, thank you...”

She only pushes the fringe of her blonde hair which slipped out of her ponytail to the right side of her face. You suddenly notice just how beautiful she is. Not only on the outside but also in her heart.

“See you tomorrow then.” You zip your sweatshirt up because it's starting to snow harder.

“I guess.” Annie turns her back to you and starts to run in the opposite direction she was supposed to go if she wanted to get back to her flat.

You chuckle. She's a really determined person to jog in the weather like this. You follow her example and put the hood on. Then, having decided to walk instead of running, you begin to move slowly towards your apartment block. You don't want to drop dead halfway.

Unfortunately when you're finally there, standing in front of your flat's door, you're soaking wet. You hesitate looking at the doorbell. After Annie's speech you're ready to face Levi, but maybe not with the melting snow all over your body.

Eventually you try to pull the handle down. To your surprise, the door swings open easily. You quietly enter the flat, wondering if Levi is still in the living room.

The door makes a small 'click' after you close it behind you.

“I'm sure it's her.” Levi's sharp voice makes you shiver. It seems like he's talking to someone on the phone. The sounds of steps coming from the living room tell you that your flatmate prowls around the room.

You stand still wanting to know who is he talking about.

“Yes, blonde hair, light blue eyes,” he snaps, obviously annoyed with the person on the other side of the phone. Your stomach does a double-flip.

You put your hand on your chest, fearing the pounding of your heart might give you away. You feel sick all of sudden. While you try to keep your breakfast inside, Levi ends the phone call and, judging by the sounds, he throws himself onto the coach.

“We've got you, Annie Leonhardt,” he mutters quietly.


	8. Chapter 8

You quickly shake the shock off, coming back to reality.

_You haven't heard anything!_

You loudly open and close the door, pretending that you've just walked in.

“Waiting for the burglars I see,” you say tightly, removing soaked trainers with your feet to avoid touching them. You take off the wet sweatshirt as well and hang it on the peg.

When you turn around, Levi is already there, leaning against the wall. His slightly tousled hair is a sight to behold, and if it weren't for his annoyed expression, you would stare at him for a little bit longer.

“Ah, yes, yes...” you mumble and grab your dripping with water shoes. You place them on the doormat and crack a smile to Levi. “Happy? Oh, by the way – locking the door is not as hard as you probably think.” You twist the lock twice. “See?”

You're surprised how the stress changed your attitude towards him. If the situation wasn't so tense, you would presumably stutter out a few words and make your way to the bedroom.

You cast your eyes at him checking to see that you didn't give yourself away. To your surprise, you discover that he's peering at your chest. You look down to find out that, apart from sweatshirt and trainers, your white T-shirt is also soaked. It's not as wet as the black hoodie that you've just hung on a peg, but enough for your bra to be visible.

“Well...” You feel your face burning with embarrassment when you look around to see if there's something you could cover yourself up with. “It's snowing.”

He nods slowly not taking his eyes off your shirt. His nonchalant expression makes him look even more stunning than usual. You feel your stomach tighten as he, almost imperceptibly, smirks.

“Hey!” You snap your fingers in front of his face. Look what the nervousness has done with you. You're trying to act like a normal person who is friends with their roommate, not like the neurotic girl that is hopelessly in love with the guy who's paying half of the rent for the flat.

Levi eventually lifts his eyes to your face. You send him a bitter smile and enter your bedroom to change into dry clothes.

When the door closes behind you, you let out a panting sigh, supporting yourself against the wall. How did you even got yourself into this mess? And, more importantly, what does Annie have to do with Levi?

Preoccupied with your thoughts, you unconsciously pull out a navy blue T-shirt with yellow stars on it and a pair of black trousers from the chest of drawers. Having dressed yourself up, you decide to have a talk with Levi about Annie the next day, since you don't have stomach for it now.

The mere mention of the situation from a few minutes ago, makes you feel sick. You don't even want to theorise on what he meant by saying 'We've got you Annie Leonhardt'. All ideas that come to your mind are so horrible that you decide not to think about it.

 

* * *

 

You and Annie walk out of the university together, talking about your professor, Mr Jacobs.

“To be honest, I think he actually did look a bit more pale today,” you say, looking around in search of Levi. You swallow with difficulty, knowing that you will be facing him later this afternoon with reference to his connection with Annie.

“No wonder,” Annie replies calmly. “If I had been food poisoned the day before practical classes, I would look like...”

She suddenly stops walking.

“What is it?” You arch your eyebrows, finally fixing your eyes on her.

“I should be the one asking,” she says dryly.

“Sorry... I was just—”

“Never mind,” she cuts you off unpleasantly, but still stands still. “Have you told him yet?” she asks all of sudden.

At first you feel disconcerted, because from where would she know about yesterday's incident? Then it hits you – she's talking about you and Levi.

“I have nothing to say in that matter, I'm afraid.”

“My father always said that everything is worth trying,” Annie suddenly states. You set your eyes on her and immediately come to the conclusion that her declaration was unintended. She's staring at you with her half-lifted eyes, a glimpse of insecurity in them.

“And do you agree with him?” you ask carefully, not wanting to ferret some sensitive issue out.

“No.”

You close your eyes in a fit of hot flush, feeling ashamed as never. Annie probably went through a lot of mess and you're here with your ridiculous crush on your flatmate. What a disaster.

You don't want to look at her. Not yet. You know that Annie is watching you.

“We're still in front of the college...” she reminds you and you open your eyes. They sting a bit.

You look away. Suddenly something catches your attention. It's Levi striding through the square. With a girl. A ginger girl around your age, slightly shorter than your roommate. You watch, baffled, as they approach the black motorcycle. When they drive away, you slowly fix your eyes on Annie.

“I'm afraid I don't agree with your father as well.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Ahh, now people will hate Petra. Please, don't. Don't worry I won't make her a heartless bitch To be honest I don't really like fanfictions in which she is portrayed like that. She's usually very OOC in them. I mean, Petra from canon would never be like "Oh, sorry - are you in love with Levi? Too bad... *insert evil laughing here*.


	9. Chapter 9

“You know that she's not his girlfriend, right?” asks Annie, although the tone in which she says it, isn't very convincing.

You glance outside the frosted window. It's snowing again.

“That's what I managed to deduce too,” you grunt and take a small sip of tea from your cup.

Annie looks around her. It's the first time she has been in your flat, except for that one time she came to tell you that your classes were cancelled. She casts her eyes on the spotless table surface in front of her.

“What is he like?” she asks suddenly, still staring at the wooden counter.

“Who? Levi?” you peer at her, absentmindedly. She doesn't reply, so you assume she's talking about him. “He is... Nice.”

Annie's eyebrows almost imperceptibly go up.

“Nice,” she repeats. “I don't like that word. It's not concrete. Makes people seem good to everyone. Is Levi good to everyone?”

Your eyes widen. What kind of question is that?

“Levi is—” The sound of the keys in the door cut you off. “Here,” you finish the sentence with a sigh. Actually you feel quite relieved not having to answer Annie's question. Describing people it's not your strong suit. Especially if you're supposed to characterize your flatmate, who you don't know anything about at all.

“Can you just once wipe your shoes on the rug by the door before entering the flat?” you and Annie hear Levi's cold voice a second before he peeks into the room, seeing melting snowflakes in it. He looks hauntingly at you with his black bangs sticking to his forehead. The only thing that ruins the whole impression are his furrowed brows.

You turn your head to Annie to find that she is staring at your flatmate with squinted eyes. When you glance back in the direction of Levi, he isn't there anymore. You only hear him close the bedroom door behind him.

“Can I use the toilet?” Annie asks, toneless.

You nod.

“Sure. Come on, I'll show you the way to the bath—“

“I think I know where it is,” she interrupts you and walks out of the room.

You don't have to wait long. She comes back five seconds later, putting her coat on and wrapping herself up with a scarf.

“What are you doing?” you stutter.

Annie only shakes her head firmly. With one smooth move, she opens the balcony door widely and slides outside.

“Annie!” you hiss quietly, not wanting Levi to hear you.

You spring up to your feet and hurl yourself towards her. The cold air hits your bare shoulders as soon as you find yourself outside the flat, making you shiver. At that moment, you regret not having kept the sweatshirt, you were wearing earlier that day, on you. Meanwhile, Annie throws one of her legs above the balcony rail and then swings another one over it. You watch with wide open eyes how she jumps from the first floor and lands safely on soft snow.

Levi's footsteps resound in the flat behind you, so you quickly dart back to the living room, closing the balcony door behind you. You slump heavily on the chair, trying to calm yourself down. Two seconds later, your flatmate steps into the room. He doesn't say anything, just sits down on a coach and locks his blue eyes on you.

“She had to leave,” you answer the unspoken question tightly and fix your eyes on Annie's still steaming cup of tea.

From the corner of your eyes, you see Levi nod. The tension in the room reaches an unbearable level. You eventually twist your head towards him.

“What?” he asks coldly.

You snort.

“Nothing, Levi.” You stand up. “Nothing at all.” You clench your hands into fists. “I just want you to finally tell me what on Earth is happening here.”


	10. Chapter 10

Four words leave his mouth and you find yourself stepping back in bewilderment.

_A witness protection program._

All the doubts you've been desperately trying to suppress for the last few weeks, collapse onto you with double strength.

Dozens of questions swarm your mind. Your flatmate peers at you impassively. The sound of your heartbeat. A pricking sensation in your back. Too many things happening all at once.

Levi lifts himself up from the coach and crosses his arms. He is fully aware of his decision's consequences, but still chooses to tell you everything. Even though that bastard Erwin had enough problems with the whole case already.

 

* * *

 

Two months earlier Hanji Zoe bursts into the Survey Corps' headquarters. Her hair is much more dishevelled than usually, and she keeps adjusting her glasses.

“Erwin!” she cries out, causing everybody's heads turn.

“What—“ starts Petra Ral, but the brunette only dismisses her with a waveof her hand, and darts to her leader's office.

“Hanji,” Erwin Smith lifts his attention from a bunch of papers lying on his desk, and casts his light blue eyes on her. “What happened?”

The brunette nearly doubles up, trying to catch her breath. She gazes at him, agonizingly.

“Sawney and Bean T. are dead,” she wails, but composes herself before any further explanations. “I went to their rental, as requested, and found them both on the floor. There was no sight of Jose who was in charge of looking after them today. After quick examination, I have grounds to suspect that they were murdered. Someone slit their throats. I called the police immediately, in accordance with the standard procedure. Any orders?”

Erwin stares blankly at her for a moment, processing everything she said. He puts down the pen that was in his hands up until now and joins his hands as he sighs quietly.

“Get Richard Arlert.”

 

* * *

 

“It was Leonhardt then...” Levi's voice is full of coldness. He flicks through the report written by Richard Arlert, one of the best investigators that ever worked in the Survey Corps.

 “ _Annie_ Leonhardt,” Hanji specifies.

“ _Motherfucking_ Annie Leonhardt,” Levi snaps. He passes the report to the right, to Mike Zacharius.

“Remember that we're talking about an eighteen-year-old girl.” Zoe runs her left hand through her brown messy hair. She has dark circles under her eyes, that her glasses cannot hide. Like everyone in the room, she seems exhausted.

“Eighteen-year-old girl who murdered two adult men by silting their throats,” Levi retorts harshly.

Meanwhile Mike finishes reading the report and gives it to Dita, sitting next to him. The documents circulate around the room in total silence for a few minutes. When they finally get back to Erwin, he folds them neatly and puts into a desk drawer before locking it.

Hanji shifts in her chair impatiently.

“Has the police commenced any actions yet?”

“Yes. They've brought Jose to trial,” Erwin responds briefly.

“At this rate they will probably have caught Leonhardt by the end of the next year,” grunts Keith.

Levi gives a small 'tch' under his nose.

“Why so optimistic? They will have to have discovered that she's the killer before then.”

Hanji almost jumps up in her seat.

“Then the solution is simple – _we_ need to capture her.” She leans back in her chair comfortably and looks up at the ceiling. “Any action plans, Erwin?”

“Actually, yes. I have something.”

 

* * *

 

“Levi still hasn't returned?” asks Gunther, walking into the office.

His colleagues shake their heads in unison. Schultz flops on the only free swivel chair in the room, saved for him by his friends. Rest of the seats are occupied by, lively debating, other staff members. The noise in the office is slowly reaching an unbearable level.

“Neither did Mike,” says Eld. “Or Hanji. Not to mention the other squad leaders.”

Auruo rolls his eyes.

“No wonder. Terrible, terrible matter.”

Petra's sigh is drowned out by the turmoil prevailing in the room.

“That one time I have to admit you're right. In the history of the witness protection program it is the first time that kind of thing had happened.”

“We don't need a history lesson from you, Pe— Ough!“ Auruo grasps his side,where his ginger colleaguehad just prodded him.

“Petra, Auruo, stop.” Eld stands up from his seat. “They've finished.”

The room immediately floods with silence.

 

* * *

 

You shake your head with disbelief. The whole case seems ridiculous, and the idea of Annie being the killer sounds like complete nonsense to you.

However...

“How am I supposed to believe you?” you persist. “You've been lying to me for nearly two full months.”

Levi takes two steps in your direction, his arms still crossed over his chest. You're almost touching.

He doesn't break eye contact when he speaks up.

“We need your help,” he says in a surprisingly throaty voice.


	11. Chapter 11

“What do you mean she's here?” Erwin Smith's peaceful expression contrasts with his strident voice. “You brought your flatmate, Miss (Surname), to the Survey Corps headquarters in the middle of the night without any permission or notice?”

“Yes.”

“You also informed her of our recent events?”

“Yes.”

“And you familiarized her with the details of Sawney and Bean's case which was meant to be confidential as well?”

“Yes.”

Smith nods. He adjusts his sitting position and—after resting his elbows on the desk—he tents his hands. His voice is more gentle when he speaks up again.

“You must have a good reason then.”

“If you consider Leonhardt a good reason, then yes, I do have it.” Erwin tenses up at the sound of the surname that Levi almost hisses out. “Otherwise I wouldn'thave dragged my flatmate here along with me at such an ungodly hour.”

He suddenly feels an urge to add viciously that he would rather shit himself in front of everyone than to sit in the headquarters, doing nothing while Leonhardt is somewhere out there, probably trying to get out of the town.

But he just states bluntly, “My squad tried to perform a capture mission this evening.”

Erwin frowns at his words.

“You know that you're obligated to ask me if you can take those actions? I did not get any information about it.”

"You would have gotten your damn information if our little blonde hadn't escaped before my squad came to my flat.”

“Annie Leonhardt was in your flat?”

“Yes. It appears that our fugitive is my flatmate's acquaintance. They go to university together.” Levi's face is expressionless. “When I came back to the flat today, she was there with my flatmate.”

Erwin's next wordsare unexpected and entirely off-topic, “Why do you never address Miss (Surname) by her name?”

Levi presses his lips together. “What kind of question is that?”

His superior shrugs. “I'm just curious. Since you've walked into my office you'vealready managed to say 'my flatmate' four times.”

“Thrilling that you’ve been counting.”

The clock in Erwin's office strikes eleven. Police sirens can be heard from a distance. Both men automatically turn their heads towards the window. Levi furrows his brows and returns to the topic.

“I messaged Eld, Auruo, Petra and Gunther. Leonhardt must have realised something was wrong. She escaped through a window.“

“What about your squad?”

“They're trying to track her. That's why I brought my flatmate here.” _Fuck._ He did it again. But his superior is too preoccupied with the case right now to point that out to him. “She can help us.”

Erwin immerses himself in a thought for a while. “Will she?”

“She will have to,” Levi replies, his eyes completely blank.

Smith leans back and looks up.

“You're lucky I decided to stay in late today. If I hadn't had some paperwork to do, you wouldn't have found me in here.”

“I would,” Levi says, frank as ever.

Erwin smiles sadly, still glancingat the ceiling.

“Yes, you're probably right.” He stands up from his chair. “Now – let's join that _flatmate_ of yours. I bet she's fallen asleep during our conversation. Where did you leave her?”

“In the kitchenette. And I highly doubt she has fallen asleep.”

 

* * *

 

He's right. When Erwin Smith and Levi step into the room, you scramble to your feet.

“Good evening, sir.”

“Hello, (Name). My name is Erwin Smith and I'm the leaderof the Survey Corps. I don't suppose Levi told you what the Survey Corps is?”

“He only explained your current situation to me, sir. But since you're responsible for protecting witnesses during trial I suspect law enforcement agency,” you say in one breath while rubbing your hands nervously. You're on edge.“I don't quite get why it's called Survey Corps though.”

Erwin smiled and Levi raised an eyebrow at you,so you assume your reasoning is correct.

“Do you work for the government?” you ask Smith.

“No. We're an independent agency. I would even say 'private'.”

“That's why we needed a fancy name for it.”

A lump in your throat successfully holds you back from chuckling. Erwin Smith gestures you to sit down in a chair. When you follow his directions, he takes a seat on the other side of the table. Levi folds his arms and leans against the kitchen counter.

“(Name),” starts Smith in a polite tone. “I've heard that you made an acquaintance with Annie Leonhardt. It that true?”

You nod. Only because you're too afraid that your voice would not come out.

“Were you friends?”

“ _Were_?” you croak. It sounds as if you abandoned her. “No, we weren't friends.”

Erwin doesn't comment it. Instead, he asks you another question, “Did Annie Leonhardt mention anything that—“

“No,” you reply before he can finish, gazing apathetically at the table, a sad smile plastered across your face. “She isn't very communicative.”

“But you must have talked about something.”

“Personal things not concerning Annie so let's drop this topic, please,” you say frigidly. Levi on your left clears his throat. You don't look at him.

Smith nods. “Let's try something else then. How would you describe Annie?”

You answer almost immediately, “She's nice.”

_Nice. I don't like that word. It's not concrete. Makes people seem good to everyone._

You take a shaky breath.

“Is everything okay, (Name)?” Erwin knits his eyebrows in concern.

You place your left hand on your chest and swallow hard.

“I just remembered something Annie told me today.” You let out a short, nervous laugh. “She asked me the same thing. How is Levi like. Funny, eh?”

Through the corner of your eye, you see Levi stiffen. You swivel your head to the left.

“I answered the same way.”

Your flatmate clenches his jaw. He's not looking at you.

Smith coughs, making you gaze back at him. “So in your opinion Annie was... nice?”

“She was nice. To me,” you clarify.

Erwin Smith sighs loudly. His lips twist into rueful smile. “I'm very sorry that you happened to get involved in this case. My last question before I explain to you conditions of your participation in our action plan; do you—“

“Who said I'm going to participate in your action plan, sir?” You open your eyes wide.

But before Smith can reply, Levi in two quick stepsapproaches you, slams his hand on the table making you flinch, and lowers his head to your level. You hunch in your seat out of fear.

“Enough,” he hisses. “Stop pretending that nothing has happened. I think the facts speak for themselves — Annie Leonhardt killed two adult men. She _slit_ their throats. She _killed_ them. We have no time for tittle-tattle, so decide now! You either help us or go back to the flat. But be aware that if you choose the second option, you will have nothing to say when we eventually capture her.”

His every word is like a knife, spiking into your body. You recall your chance meeting with Annie from yesterday.

_You go back to the flat and pretend that nothing happened. Because nothing happened._

Everything happened.

You feel your cheeks burning and your voice shaking as you mutter, “I just wanted to make a friend...”

 


	12. Chapter 12

"Make friends with whoever you want, I don't care." Levi places his hands on the table and leans forward. You begin to rub the nape of your neck nervously. "One word. _Yes_ or _no_. Choose."

You grit your teeth. "What if I choose wrongly?"

Levi slowly shakes his head.

"There is no wrong choice," he says. "Choose the one you will regret less."

The nape of your neck must be red from the nervous rubbing already. Levi clearly doesn't understand that, no matter what you decide to do, you're going to regret it later.

How would you help them anyway? You don't know anything about Annie. She may have told you where she lives, but you don't suspect it was her real address. Besides the Survey Corps probably have already checked all locations connected with her.

Seems like Erwin sensed your hesitation because he says, "We don't need information. Everything we need to know about Annie, we already do.”

“If you do, then what were all this questions about my acquaintance with Annie for, sir?”

He answers after a while, “I was just curious.”

You furrow your brows. “In that case I don't understand what I'm doing here.”

Smith shots Levi a quick glance. “She doesn't know what we were going to do today? I thought you told her about everything.”

Your flatmate snorts. “Of course I did. In fact, we had a small conversation over hot chocolate and biscuits.”

Erwin ignores him and turns his attention back to you. You raise your eyebrows questioningly.

“Yesterday we received the last document necessary to gather the evidence needed to arrest Annie Leonhardt.”

Your insides flip. So that's why they didn't apprehend her two months ago. Richard Arlert's report must have not been enough proof for the police. Levi was probably sent to discreetly observe her until they are able to arrest her.

And you brought Annie to your flat yesterday.

Your tongue feels leaden in your mouth when you speak, “Did she know Levi was…?”

“You tell me.” Levi's face is inscrutable.

“I—” Your eyes skip from him to Erwin. “I don't know.”

Your flatmate shrugs. “Whatever. She knows _now_ , that's for sure.”

“But that still doesn't make any sense. Why didn't she got out of the town or even the country immediately after she...” Your mouth goes dry and your voice trails off. You only manage to let out a croaky whisper, “Well, you know.”

“It's not important right now,” Levi grunts. “Her actions are our profiler's concern.”

Something isn't right, you think as you turn your head away from Levi's glowering face. Something is definitely not right. As if you overlooked something. In that kind of case the answer usually turns out to be simple and obvious, leaving you ashamed because you didn't think about it earlier. You begin to sift everything you've learnt about Annie so far.

And then it hits you.

“The court case in which Sawney and Bean were witnesses. What was its point?” you ask eagerly, the thrill rushing through your body. “What was it about?”

Levi and Smith exchange glances, confused by your sudden briskness.

“Drug trade,” Erwin says eventually.

The excitement vanishes from your face immediately. But then - what else did you expect to hear? That Sawney and Bean were a part of an organization trying to overthrow the government? Drug dealing is also an important issue after all. Especially if two adult men, who are too deep in and decide to testify against their 'co-workers', get their throats slit.

It still doesn't explain Annie's part in this case though. There is no doubt that she killed Sawney and Bean T., you won't try to argue with law enforcement agency investigator's report, but there's something alarming about it. Because it's not the killing part what scares you the most about Annie's input to that case.

It's the reason why she did it.

“Is Annie... Uhm... _Was_ Annie involved in this drug trade?” You decide to direct your questions to Erwin Smith so you don't have to annoy Levi unnecessarily.

“According to our profiler, she wasn't.” The headlights of some car flash through the window lightening Smith's face and you notice how exhausted he looks. “Have you got any other questions?”

He asks that in a polite voice, so different from Levi's harsh tone. You think for a moment only to shake your head firmly.

“Good.” Levi checks the time on his phone. His brows furrow in discontent. “We've wasted too much time on talking and I want to make sure you understand the plan.”

You lock your eyes on Erwin, expecting him to explain everything, but he moves his head from left to right.

“I don't know the plan either,” he says and when you frown, adds, “I had no idea that Annie Leonhardt was in your flat yesterday evening. If Levi hadn't informed me, I would have still thought we are going to arrest her today. But we're not and that's why we need a solid action plan. Since Levi brought you here with him in the middle of the night, I presume he has one and it involves you too.”

Smith gives Levi, who's still standing by the table, a nod, encouraging him to speak. Your flatmate crosses his arms.

“I thought you were going to explain the conditions of her cooperation with us first.”

Erwin waves his hand dismissively. “It's just a signature on one document. We can take care of it later. Tell us about your plan, please.”

Levi clears his throat, “We make Leonhardt think she can escape, keeping an eye on her at the same time.”

You watch him in silence, waiting for a continuation. When he says nothing more, you blink. “That's it? That's your _solid_ plan?”

Unbelievable. You cast your eyes at Smith, quite sure he is sceptical towards his subordinate's idea too.

To your surprise, Erwin stares at Levi attentively. “Does Hanji know?”

“I messaged her about an hour ago.”

Your eyes become bigger and bigger with every word they say. Is Smith really taking your flatmate's plan seriously?

“You're sure she received the text?”

“Yes, she confirmed she got it.”

“Great.”

You gasp, “Do you think Annie is _that_ stupid? She has probably thrown away her mobile phone and is not going to return to her flat any time soon. No disrespect, but I really want to see how you are going to track her down now.”

Levi glares at you.

“We have our methods, (Name),” Erwin says. “Trust us.”

You lower your head. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. I'm just so tired. I don't understand anything.”

“My bad.”

Your head cocks up. Has Levi really said that, or are you just imagining things?

“My bad,” he repeats and your mouth goes open. “I didn't let myself clear.”

Smith takes over, “Levi wants to corner Annie Leonhardt in one place, presumably an airport as she is probably trying to get out of the town. The first step to do this is to track her down. You don't have to worry about that – Hanji Zoe has never failed us in finding people we want. Having done that, we create a false impression of safety. We don't block airports. We let her 'escape'. If our fugitive tries to catch a taxi, we make sure it's ours. If she decides to go by train, we surprise her in the middle of the stopover.”

“What about me?”

Erwin frowns. “Good question. Levi?”

Your flatmate sighs with irritation. “There is still a small chance that something goes wrong. If anything unexpected occurs, you speak to her.”

“Do you think she will listen to me?”

“Do you think she will listen to us?”

 


	13. Chapter 13

Erwin Smith watches as you leave the kitchenette, suggested to rest on a couch in his office. With a split-second hesitation, Levi sits down on the now vacated chair. He stares at his superior from across the table, leant against the seat back, his hands behind it.

“What do you think?” he asks.

Smith casts his blue eyes at him. “Interesting person.”

Levi clenches his jaw. “I'm asking about the plan.”

“I can't come up with anything better, so it will have to do.” Erwin rests his chin on his hand. “Although I really hope Miss (Surname) won't have to take part in that. If anything should happen to her—”

“That possibility is out of question.”

“—we're going to get into even more trouble.”

Levi's eyebrows rise slightly though his expression remains blank. The same old Erwin – always ready to make sacrifices in order to succeed.

There is a touch of tentativeness in Smith's voice when he speaks up again, “I was wondering – are you going to return to your former flat when we eventually apprehend Annie Leonhardt?”

Levi eyes him for a long while, his eyebrows drawn together. “The amount of questions you're asking today is terrifying.”

With that, he looks to the left, at the doorway through which you left the kitchenette. He knows that the plan he propositioned is nothing more than a gamble; same goes for his superior. And yet, Erwin wants to give it a try. Once again, that man is seeing something he can't.

“Hanji better hurry up tracking Leonhardt,” he grunts.

* * *

You carefully close the door leading to Erwin's office behind you. It's dark inside but the street lamps shining through the window allow you to locate the small couch in the corner of the room. Even in the dim light, it looks expensive.

But then everything in here looks like it has just been taken from a high-class shop display, you realise with a crooked smile. Even in the kitchenette the chairs seemed upper quality. The longer you ponder about it, the more aware of your fatigue you become. Thinking about some chairs in such a moment. You definitely need to rest.

The couch turns out to be as comfortable as can be expected from the one belonging to the leader of the law enforcement agency. Settling yourself on it, you try to tell its colour, but it seems impossible in the darkness.

White. You take a guess and white is the first colour that pops into your head. Erwin Smith seems like a guy who would keep a white couch in his office.

Realising that you've just spent at least three minutes on contemplating somebody's furniture, you groan angrily.

Unfortunately, even the most comfy couch isn't going to help falling asleep if you have casual clothes on. The stitchings, that itch your skin with every single shift, successfully keep you from relaxing.

With a growl, you pull your thick grey jumper up and unbuckle your belt. Tossing it onto the floor you let out a sigh of relief. Still not perfect but better.

You halt before raising your legs onto the couch. It might not turn out to be white,but it certainly is in light colour, while your shoes are wet from the snow. One quick move and they land next to the belt.

Free from at least some of the uncomfortable clothes, you finally stretch out on soft cushions. Sleep doesn't come easily, so you try to recall some of the funny stories Eren told you.

After a moment you find yourself thinking about Annie Leonhardt anyway. What is she doing now? How is she feeling?

The sound of an opening door decisively ruins your—small anyhow—chances of falling asleep. It's not loud but audible enough to make you open your eyes.

A silhouette appears in the door frame, the person's face illuminated by the street lights.

“Sleeping?” You detect a strain of weariness in Levi's usual harsh tone.

“Wish I was.” Propping yourself up on your elbows, you try to suppress a yawn, but fail miserably. “Eh, Mr Smith wants me out of his office already?”

“Unfortunately, no,” he says. “He went to his car for some documents he left in it.”

There is a click when he closes the door behind him. You still don't see his whole body, surrounded by the darkness, but can hear his shoes scuffing when he makes a few steps in your direction.

You get up to sitting position just in time, because your flatmate slumps onto the cushion with a thud. He throws his head back and exhales slowly, letting the air whistle through his teeth.

“Levi?”

“Hm?”

“What colour is this couch?” You strain your eyes, once again trying to perceive the material's shade.

Your flatmate must be as tired as you, because he simply answers your question, “Beige.”

“Beige,” you repeat with a nod. “I was close.”

Without changing his position, Levi directs his eyes at you. At least you think so – you hardly make out anything in the gloom of the office.

However, if you're right, he stares at you for a good while.

“Eh,” you eventually break the silence, “I guess I wasn't the best flatmate, was I?”

He doesn't answer right away.

“You weren't,” he admits after a moment. “But I wasn't the best flatmate either, I suppose.”

You let out a short laugh, your throat tight. “Speaking of our...” _Cohabitation,_ you want to say but bite your tongue just in time, “...flat – I didn't vacuum the living room last Saturday, although it was my turn.”

“I know,” he snorts. “I also know it wasn't the first time you 'forgot' to do it.”

You bring your legs to your chest, wrapping your arms tightly around them. This is probably the closest to normal conversation you ever had with Levi.

He stands up exactly when you open your mouth to carry on the conversation.

“It's been a while... I'll go and check whether that bastard Erwin accidentally locked himself in the car,” he says and walks out of the office, leaving you in the dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally done with my exams! That means more time to write (hopefully). Unfortunately, I can't say that I'm entirely free from work now. I still have to fight for my marks. Please, understand that.
> 
> Anyways, we're slowly getting to the climax of this story. I hope you will stick around and thank you so much for all your feedback!


	14. Chapter 14

Just as you finish lacing up your shoes, Levi walks into the office, Erwin Smith behind him with a briefcase in his hand.

“He didn't,” your flatmate says, snapping the light back on.

“I'm sorry?”

“He didn't accidentally lock himself in the car.”

“Oh.” You smile lightly, but Levi's face is like a brick wall.

“I've got the documents,” Erwin Smith breaks in. He pats the briefcase and places it on the desk carefully. You take a seat across him.

Levi shifts on the couch behind you, making you glance over your shoulder at him. A big frown forms on his face as he checks the time on his phone. He notices you're looking at him and, without turning his head, casts his cobalt eyes at you.

It's probably the first time you don't look away. Levi narrows his eyes as you hold his stare.

Smith coughs. The document he brought is already in front of you, along with a simple black pen.

“Read it carefully,” he says. “We've got time.”

You run your eyes through the text. It states the conditions of your cooperation with the Survey Corps. Five minutes later, you slide the paper back to Smith. He nods and checks if everything has been signed properly.

“Speaking of time-” Levi begins dully, but stops mid-sentence.

Something starts buzzing.

The three of you look at each other in suspense. Even Levi seems disturbed. Erwin reaches into the pocket, fishes out his mobile phone and presses it to the ear.

“Hanji?”

The next moment you're cramped in the back seat of Erwin's car with some files and boxes flying around you, every time the vehicle swerves. Levi has his brows furrowed, completely focused on the road. Next to him, Smith is trying to make a call.

“No sooner than in an hour?” He rumbles into the phone. “Yes, her plane takes off in three hours, but I need you there earlier.”

You let out a shaky breath when the car rounds a bend for the fifth time, once again sending some files to the ground. Clutching onto the sides of your seat, you close your eyes tight and start counting.

Ten minutes later the three of you march into the airport terminal.

“What do we do?” you ask, trying to squash the rising anxiousness in your throat. “She's probably at the gates by now. Mr Smith, talk to the officers.”

Erwin rubs the back of his neck nervously. “It's not an option. We need to act incognito. At least as long as the rest of the crew doesn't arrive.”

“But there's no other way to get to her! In few more minutes she will be gone and you won't find her!” you burst out, your nostrils flaring with anger. You're still in clothes from yesterday, all covered in sweat, strands of hair sticking to your forehead and neck. Smith stares at you, dazed. You lower your head. “I'm so sorry, sir. I didn't mean to-”

“Hold on,” Erwin cuts your apology off. “Where is Levi?”

Great. As if you didn't have enough on your mind. You look around in search of your flatmate, but because of people flocking from every direction, you hardly see anything.

“There.” Smith points to your left. Precisely, Levi is there, forcing his way through the crowd.

“Where were you?” you cry out, both angry and terrified. “We're trying to figure out how to get to Annie-”

He sends you a sharp, displeased look. “I know. By freaking out and panicking.”

“Where were you?” you repeat.

“Ticket office. I asked if there are any unfilled seats.”

Oh, right.

“And?” Erwin looks at him expectantly.

It must be some kind of karma, good luck or physic stuff—or maybe all of them—because Levi nods.

“Oh, thank God,” you say. Then you realise that means you're one step closer to confronting Annie, and a pang of fear flits through your stomach.

Smith seems relieved as well. “Now, we need to make sure what we're doing. (Name), you're going to buy this ticket.”

You nod, the adrenaline rising in your blood stream. “What am I supposed to do there?”

“Buy us time.”

“Got it.”

“Are you some kind of mentally retarded or what?” Levi suddenly speaks up. “She doesn't even have any documents with her. How is she going to buy this ticket?”

“Good point. I didn't think of that.” Erwin scratches his head. He's tired and it's perfectly visible. “We have to-”

“Besides I've already bought it.”

You freeze. “What? But I'm the one who needs to get there.”

Levi snorts, takes you by your arm, and pushes towards check-in.

“You don't have any documents with you anyway,” he grunts.

“You have?”

He glares at you. Suddenly you feel his right hand on your waist. His touch is gentle, much different from his usual harsh attitude. You turn red almost immediately and send him both questioning and stunned look.

“Just don't say anything,” he hisses before you arrive at the desk.

You watch him hand the plane ticket and his passport to the check-in clerk. He explains his boss arranged a meeting with an important investor and expects him to accompany him. The meeting is set up for tomorrow evening and he learnt about it only a few hours ago. The woman behind the desk looks at you. The ticket is issued only for Levi.

“My fiancée,” he introduces you and squeezes your waist alarmingly as you start leaning to one side dangerously, shocked by his statement.

You don't trust your own legs anymore.

The conversation carries on. To be honest, you thought that he would be acting nice and polite, but he doesn't. He's himself. Grumpy, distant, rough.

_Intimidating._

“I'm afraid I cannot give your fiancée a gate pass.” The woman behind the desk smiles at you apologetically. “The terminal is crowded enough.”

You shift from one leg to another. She is clearly not going to let you through.

“Oh, that's too bad,” you speak up despite Levi's displeasure. His arm clenches your waist even more tightly. Your head is swirling. “Levi, I…”

Your voice trails off and he glances at you, his eyebrows up. His face looks very different when he doesn't frown. It's more calm. Peaceful. You noticed it quite a long time ago.

If only he looked at you like that more often.

Your next words fall out of your mouth before you have a chance to think them through.

Levi's hand slides from your waist and clenches into a fist. The desk clerk bites her lower lip.

For some reason, your heart feels heavy.

* * *

Levi not once glances at you when you thread your way through the crowd, towards the airport security. He doesn't look at you during the checking either.

Eventually, you pluck up the courage to ask which gate are you heading for.

“B15,” he answers, still refusing to meet your gaze. He stops you by the windows.

His eyes flicker towards the people waiting for their flights and then, finally, he casts his hooded eyes at you.

“I can't go any further,” he states.

You nod. None of you can possibly guess Annie's reaction. It's better for you to confront her than any of the Survey Corps members.

“Try to back her into a corner,” he continues. “Talk to her, whatever. Like Erwin said - buy us time. We'll be in contact. You haven't changed your number?”

“No.”

“Good. If anything that makes you feel in danger happens, you get away from her as soon as possible. Understand?”

“Yes.”

“Just don't exaggerate things.”

“Is that everything?”

He presses his lips together. “Probably not, but we don't have time for that. Go.”

You obediently turn around to the centre of the terminal, having no idea how you are going to find Annie in here. What if she's wearing a wig?

“And (Name)?”

You turn your head to face him one more time. He has an indiscernible look in his eyes.

“Yes?”

“Nice job with that gate pass.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pssst - I hope you haven't realised that I have no idea how airports work. Like, seriously, that was the biggest research I have ever done.
> 
> *deletes her browsing history*


	15. Chapter 15

Annie Leonhardt adjusts the black wig on her head, fearing it might slide from her blonde hair, revealing her true identity. Spending a good amount of money on it paid off after all. Though the grey contact lenses she put on in a public toilet start to irritate her. She will have to take them off once she boards the plane.

Actually it would be good to check if she has everything she needs once more.

Annie heads to the airport toilets, taking her hand luggage with her. She locks herself in one stall and opens the backpack.

Her false passport sticks out from one of the pockets. She holds it in hand for a moment. It's issued for Mina Carolina, her new name. For a moment she feels an indescribable urge to flush it down the toilet. With a quiet sigh, she places it back in its place and inspects the rest of the things she packed.

A box with contact lenses? Check.

Some money? Check.

Spare clothes? Check.

A phone with new SIM card? Check.

A bottle of water she bought at Duty Free? Check.

And so on. She sits on the closed toilet seat, silently checking out things in her head. It takes her eight minutes to get through everything.

When she's done, she zips the backpack closed and unlocks the cubical door. One last glance at the mirror to make sure the wig is on its place and…

Annie freezes. A familiar figure is standing in front of her. Familiar, but how different from how she remembered her.

“Annie...”

A few moments pass as she examines your tired, shining with sweat face. It is really you.

You hold one of your hands up, almost imploringly, and whisper, “Annie, talk to me, please...”

“Where is he?”

You shake your head.

“Oh you know who I'm talking about,” she says coldly, still standing in the same cautious position. She would look like a startled animal if it wasn't for her dead expression.

You shake your head again. “What's with him? Annie, I followed you here. God knows how I managed to-

“No.” She clenches her left hand on a shoulder strap of her backpack. Her face is still expressionless and you feel sweat sliding down your temple. “Now move.”

You panic. She can't leave. Not yet.

Before Annie pushes you to the side, you grab her by her arm. It's an impulse.

“Don't do it,” you whine, having no idea what to do. “Don't-”

Her lips are a thin line now. You wince in shock when, with unbelievable strength, she sends you to the floor.

Your back took all the impact and the pain floods your whole body. You let out a shaky breath. 

“I thought we were friends,” you choke out. This is too much. What you experienced in the past twenty-four hours seems impossible for just one person to bear.

Annie's eyes widen when she realises what she's just done. She seems torn between walking away and offering you a hand to help you stand up. Maybe you were friends after all.

She chooses neither of the options, staring at you from above. There is a small hint of concern on her face but you don't care.

You don't care anymore.

“Why.” It's not a question that escapes your mouth. It's an accusation. You stare at the floor, your stomach churning.

Annie shuffles her feet.

“Why,” you repeat.

_BANG!_

Annie's backpack flies across the room. You shudder slightly, more from the deafening noise than fear.

She bites her lower lip so hard she lets out a muffled groan. Her knuckles are white as she digs her nails into both of her palms. The black wig on her head remains still. It must be a good wig.

“My dad…” It's the only thing she says before she collapses to her knees.

And then neither of you say anything.

Both on the floor, you remain silent for something that feels like forever before a middle-aged woman enters the restroom. She looks at you and Annie, her jaw agape, and leaves the room without a word. You wonder if she's going to bring the security with her next time.

Again the room is filled with your now steady breathing. You glance at Annie. Her face is empty.

An almost inaudible vibration in your pocket snaps you back to reality.

Annie's grey eyes come alive as well. Af if she remembered something, she pushes herself up and crosses the room to collect the things that fell out from her backpack when she flung it.

You squirm when her right hand appears in front of you. At first you think she wants to pull you up, but then it occurs to you – she's simply waiting for a handshake.

You get up from the floor anyway. Your back stopped hurting a while ago but when Annie's hand touches yours, a jolt of pain runs down your spine.

She turns around to leave. You don't stop her.

It's all over now.

Before she opens the door, she looks at you one more time. This is one big misunderstanding. It must be. The next moment Annie's gone.

You slide back to the floor and cover your ears as tightly as you can. It's not enough to suppress the sounds of struggle outside. 

You pull out your mobile phone from your pocket and open the text you received a few moments ago from Levi.

'We've covered the toilets entrance. You can let her go.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are you sitting comfortably?
> 
> I've spent two weeks in Croatia and wrote f o u r chapters of "My Flatmate". Brace yourselves - the end is coming.
> 
> (It seems that a lot of free time and lack of Internet access would be enough for me to write a book, haha.)


	16. Chapter 16

You don't know how much time passes before you get up from the floor. Supporting yourself on the sink, you manage to pull yourself up.

You wince at your reflection in the mirror. The person shrinking away from the view opposite doesn't resemble you at all. Red, sweaty face, wet strands of hair sticking to forehead and neck, dark circles under swollen eyes.

And your clothes; you want to rip them off. Everything from the grey jumper to light blue jeans is in terrible condition. Dirty and wet. You don't even want to imagine how you must smell right now.

You don't want to touch anything. You don't want anyone to touch you.

You just want to go home.

With a growing lump in your throat, you make a few steps towards the door and peek outside. There are police officers everywhere. Some of them are talking with the security, the rest are putting police tape everywhere. Others must work for the Survey Corps, as they are dressed in plain clothes and are permitted to move around the terminal. They're all sleepy, pulled out from their beds in the middle of the night.

No one pays attention to you. One of the officers waves at you to go away so he can check the toilets with his colleagues. You obey, pulling your coat tighter. You haven't taken it off since you left the Survey Corps' headquarters and somehow forgot you're wearing it.

You pass a lot of people, not caring to look around, before a ginger girl catches up with you.

“Ah, are you (Name)? I've been looking for you forever!” It's the same girl you saw Levi with… yesterday? Good God, was it yesterday?

It seems like she's answered her own question so you don't feel compelled to nod. She's wearing a light brown jacket which matches her eyes. Suddenly you feel very embarrassed with how you look.

“I was ordered to take you home,” she continues, putting gloves on. “I hope you don't mind motorcycles.”

“Who asked you to take me home?” You realise you haven't said anything since the confrontation with Annie, and now you don't recognize your own voice. As if it belonged to somebody else.

The ginger girl smiles softly. “Mr Smith.”

“Oh.” You don't know what you expected. “Well, I don't mind motorcycles at all.”

* * *

 

The ride passes in silence. The girl, whose name you've forgotten almost immediately after she introduced herself, walks you home. She asks if you're okay a few times. You don't answer, just shrug your shoulders.

“Do you want me to come in with you?” she asks in front of the door to your flat. Her concern is sincere. You know that.

Nevertheless, you shake your head.

She nods with understanding, gently squeezes your arm, and leaves you alone.

The keys to your flat are in your left pocket. It's a miracle that they didn't get lost in this whole tumult. You fish them out and unlock the door.

The flat is enveloped in darkness, but you don't switch the lights back on. There is a big mirror across from you. When you finally see yourself from head to feet, something breaks in you.

You almost rip your coat off and toss it onto the floor.

You've been used. You've been used by everyone. Annie. Levi. Erwin. The whole Survey Corps.

Without unlacing the shoes, you grab one of them and sling it across the room.

The mirror breaks into pieces with a loud smash. You want to scream, but not a single sound comes out. You want to cry, but not a single tear rolls down your cheek.

Your legs cannot support your weight anymore. On the way to the bathroom on all fours, you get rid of the rest of your clothes. Everything lands on the glass-covered ground. With trembling hands you turn on the tap in the bath.

The water is cold at first and you let out a moan. Slowly, it transforms into loud whine. When you slip out of the bath, you're screaming full-throated.

Still, no tears.

They come when you crawl into the bedroom, naked and dripping with water. Everything is in perfect order. Levi even made your bed.

A month ago your only trouble was that he didn't want to look at you the way you looked at him.

Pathetic.

Fucking pathetic.

Sobbing violently, you open the drawer, almost shearing it off. Not looking at its content, you blindly grab a random pair of fresh underwear and clumsily put it on. It immediately gets soaked from your wet body.

Another wave of tears bends you in half. You scream until your body feels numb.

It takes you a good while to move to the living room. There, you sink your face into the carpet. It's frizzy and soft from frequent vacuuming. You stretch your arms and legs until you realise how cold it is in the flat. Behind the window, the snow is falling from the sky in huge snowflakes.

You curl yourself into a ball, anger slowly evaporating till there's nothing left.

Staring blankly into the ceiling, you notice, out of the corner of your eye, two cups on the table. Somewhere between between being awake and falling asleep, you lie on the ground, accompanied by single spasms of tears from time to time.

 


	17. Chapter 17

You didn't lock the door; you realise, half-opening your eyes when you hear somebody walking into the flat.

The lights in the apartment snap on and Levi walks into the living room. He's holding the coat you dropped in the hall.

You rub your—mucked up with the tears—eyes. Levi's still in his boots and grey winter coat. The snowflakes that haven't yet melted shine in his hair. He's exhausted, the dark circles under his eyes even darker than normal.

As you shake your head lightly to bring your mind back to reality, a damp strand of hair sticks to your forehead. You raise your hand to remove it. That's when you notice blood dripping from your palm. You must have cut yourself while walking through the hall on your hands and knees. How come you didn't feel it?

Slowly, you begin to remember everything that happened… yesterday? What time it is? You look to the left. Dawn must have broken some time ago as it is light behind the window. Other people are probably sleeping in their beds right now, and when they wake up their only concern will be the content of their breakfast. The content of _your_ breakfast seems like a good reason for concern.

But you have far bigger things to worry about at the moment.

Levi tosses your coat onto the couch not taking his eyes off you. Where was he when you were sitting on that filthy airport toilet floor, desperately trying not to throw up from the stress. Did he forget you were there? Or maybe he just thought that you were okay with your friend being arrested.

After all the things that happened to you, it would be fair to say you hate him. That you detest him and never want to see him again in your life.

However, that wouldn't be truth.

And both of you have drained out your resources on that matter a good while ago.

“You didn't lock the door,” Levi says.

The reaction of your body to his voice is sudden and you cover your mouth to prevent yourself from weeping, smearing the blood all over your face. A small hiss escapes your lips as tears fill your eyes from the pain.

What a mess you are.

Levi's now crouching in front of you, examining your hurt legs. His eyes shift to your underwear, but his gaze is not uncomfortable. You don't feel bare either. He looks at you like a doctor studying his patient.

You try to slowly pull yourself up using your elbows, but with a shake of his head, Levi orders you to lie back. He leaves the room to return a minute later with a first aid kit.

Then he puts on latex gloves and begins to clear your wounds. Fortunately the cuts are shallow and there are no pieces of broken glass in them so he manages to bandage your knees very quickly, applying a sterile gauze on them first. When he takes your left hand into his own, you try not to wince. Not even from the pain.

With all the strength that's left in you, you tear your hand away from his hold. You've had enough humiliation today. In fact, you'd had enough humiliation to last a life time.

Levi eyes you.

“It's nothing I can't manage,” you rasp. He's nursed you since you can remember. Overslept – the breakfast is waiting for you in the kitchen. Dehydrated – a bottle of water is handed to you immediately. Tired – a blanket is wrapped around you at once.

Time for you to take care of yourself. Finally.

With implacable expression, you grab an antiseptic wash and disinfect the cuts on your palm. Levi watches as you swathe your hand. It takes you twice the time in which he would do it, but you're happy with the results.

Meanwhile the cuts on your right palm started bleeding more profusely. With your left hand, you carefully clean out the wound. Thank God there aren't any pieces of glass in it and you can safely sanitise the palm.

When you're done, you get up from the floor carefully, supporting yourself on the table and head to the bedroom.

“You can't walk through the hall like that,” Levi says behind you, standing up too.

“Oh yes I can,” you snap back, fixing your eyes on the wooden floor to avoid stepping on the broken glass.

Safely reaching your bed, you wrap yourself in a duvet, keeping it away from your still smeared in blood face. Finally, you send Levi—who followed you to the bedroom—a tired look.

“You know, a simple _thank you_ would be nice.”

With that, you turn to face the wall, back to him. Something comes to your mind though, and you glance at him once again.

“Don't fucking try to clean up the mess I made in the hall. I'll do it myself when I wake up.”

Levi looks thoughtful, almost absent, the moment you close your eyes and immediately fall asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY
> 
> Seriously, I'm so sorry it took me so long to update. The school has been an ass and I had no time to do anything. But there it is. I hope you're ready because there is only one chapter left...
> 
> And yeah - Happy New Year!


	18. Chapter 18

When you wake up, it's so bright, that you can scarcely distinguish the clock's hands on the wall opposite you. You struggle to sit up and drop your legs over the side of the bed. Scrambling out of it, you throw the duvet on the floor accidentally. When you bend to pick it up, your eyes flick to the bandages on your knees.  
  
You can't let that happen ever again, you decide, throwing a black t-shirt on and climbing into tracksuit bottoms. You're going to tell Levi straight away that you can't carry on like this; living together.  
  
Pulling clothes over the underwear you slept in, makes you realize how sore your body feels. Everything aches.  
  
Doubts hit you at the door. You hesitate, placing your right hand on the handle. Are you really unable to live with him anymore? You take a step back.  
  
You once thought you were in love with Levi. Or was it a mere infatuation?  
  
Time to find out.  
  
Walking through the hall you're careful not to step on the glass fragments that are still scattered around the floor. At least once Levi listened to you.  
  
You find him sitting at the table in the kitchen. The circles under his eyes contrast drastically with his pale face. You can tell that, unlike you, he hasn't slept at all.  
  
He's not doing anything in particular, just staring at something visible only for him on the wall. He doesn't look at you when you enter the room.  
  
With a tight stomach, you take a seat across from him. You can hardly ambulate, still exhausted after yesterday's happenings.  
  
You sit in silence for what feels like forever. His eyes still fixated on the wall behind you. Yours, on the other hand, scan his features, the ebony hair brushed out of his face, the ever-knitted brows, long lashes, the straight nose of his that you love so very much, and small lips you dream about much more often than you would probably care to admit.  
  
“Thank you,” he says, finally looking at you. Though fully dressed, you feel undoubtedly more naked and uncomfortable than you did when you sat only in your underwear in front of him the day before.  
  
“No-” you begin. Was it really not a problem?  
  
You blink twice and then gaze down. There is something sad and tragic about this situation, you just can't figure out what.  
  
“I was selfish,” he states and your head pops up again. He stands up and turns his back to you, placing both his hands on the counter. You can fully see him now, and notice he's wearing tracksuit bottoms in addition to his black T-shirt. “I was blatantly selfish. Engrossed in my work so badly that I used you for my own warped job-related purposes.”  
  
You remain silent.  
  
“I could only see my aim, which was to arrest the target and finally put an end to this case. I used you. That was a shit move. I should have never involved a third party in a case.”  
  
“What's your point?” you ask, your voice shaky though not tearful. You don't think you will be able to cry ever again after what happened yesterday. “I take it, you are trying to say you're sorry. Apologies accep-”  
  
You stop mid-sentence, remembering something.  
  
“You told me, when we were in the Survey Corps headquarters, to choose between helping you or coming back to the flat. You yelled at me-”  
  
“I-”  
  
“No, that's not my point. I get it. I was having second thoughts, delaying you. You were in a hurry, every second mattered. I get it, you had every right to get angry at me. My point is – you said that if I chose to back away, I would have nothing to say when you eventually capture Annie.” Her name sounds strange in your mouth and you decide not to use it again. “Did you apprehend her?”  
  
He answers after exactly two blinks.  
  
“Yes. If you want-”  
  
“That's all I need to know.” There is a lump in your throat and not eating anything since yesterday is beginning to take its toll.  
  
Levi puts his hands on the table and leans forward. You tense up, taken aback by the closeness of his face. He winces slightly, clearly uneasy.  
  
“I'm _so_ sorry.”  
  
There's pain in his eyes.  
  
He hesitates for a split second before taking out his mobile phone and passing it to you.  
  
“Unlock it,” he says.  
  
With a frown, you take it into your bandaged hands and glance at the screen.  
  
“How am I supposed to do it, it's password prote...” your voice trails off in realization.  
  
Levi's face is like a brick wall when you look up at him. With trembling hands, you type your own name.  
  
 _Password correct_.  
  
“When,” you whisper. You're not asking about the password – he probably set it up a minute ago.  
  
He doesn't answer. You stand up and make yourself breakfast.  
  
Later, when you are clearing the floor in the hall he approaches you.  
  
“I don't know when. I realized yesterday.”  
  
He bends to help you with the broken glass. You don't protest.

* * *

 

He's not very good at conveying emotions. When he wants you to know that he cares, he speaks through his actions. You need that reassurance, you can't help it. He knows that.  
  
Erwin Smith comes to your flat one day to thank you for your help. He stays for dinner and you talk about everything but the case. The events of that night are the last thing you want to come back to. He never turns up again.  
  
Eren, Armin and Mikasa don't know what happened. You don't think you're ever going to tell them.  
  
Sometimes Annie Leonhardt appears in your dreams. It's always the same. She says something you can't hear and then turns into a blue crystal.  
  
If you are lucky, you usually wake up in the middle of the night, covered in sweat. In other cases you stare at the crystal not knowing what to do until the dream ends in the morning.  
  
In both cases though, Levi sits with you in silence, waiting for you to calm down.  
  
It's not easy living with him. It never has been. Sometimes you wish he had left you in that kitchen that day or you walked out of the flat back then.  
  
But when you sit on the couch together watching some stupid film, that's when your hand finds his and your fingers interlock. Sometimes you notice the corners of his mouth go up when you talk. In those moments you think that maybe, _maybe_ it wasn't mere infatuation after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, haha *sweats* so as I promised like a week ago? *cough* a year ago *cough* - the last part of My Flatmate is ready.
> 
> No, seriously - life happened and I just found myself not knowing what free time feels like. Hope you still remeber the plot.
> 
> Beta reading: klovesya. She's like the best. Thank you SO SO much again!


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